Piece of New York flotsam may be part of 200-year-old shipwreck SS Savannah

‘Thrilling’ discovery on Fire Island could have come from a historic steam vessel that ran aground in 1821

A chunk of flotsam that washed up on a New York shoreline after Tropical Storm Ian last year has piqued the interest of experts who say it is likely part of the SS Savannah, which ran aground and broke apart in 1821, two years after becoming the first vessel to cross the Atlantic partly under steam power.

The roughly 13ft (four-meter) square piece of wreckage was spotted in October off Fire Island, a barrier island that hugs Long Island’s southern shore, and is now in the custody of the Fire Island Lighthouse Preservation Society. It will work with National Park Service officials to identify the wreckage and put it on public display.